THE DAY WE BECAME HIS
FAMILY
Baptism of the Lord
Many Filipinos are conscious of
dates, important calendar events that mark milestones in their lives. We do not allow birthdays to pass without
either a grand or subtle celebration.
We become sentimental when wedding anniversaries come and romantic when “month-saries”
are recalled.
As Christians, do we remember, do
we even celebrate, our baptismal day?
The most important day for a Christian is not his First Communion or his
wedding or his Confirmation but the day of his Baptism. Do you even know when
you were baptized? That needs a
little investigation work.
Baptism is the day we belonged to
God with an unbreakable bond.
Baptism is the sacrament, the sacred ritual, that flung wide open the
doors of the church, our spiritual family, so that we could enter. In this simple celebration of faith,
God and our families and friends offered to us the means of salvation, even as
we were infants unknowingly participating in the motions of the event. Today we know that a child must be
initiated with this sacrament to bring him close to the heart of the Lord and
of his people.
The model of our baptism is none
other than Jesus the Lord. Though
Jesus did not need baptism to remove sins, since he was sinless, nor to establish
a relationship with God, since he is one with him from eternity, Jesus went
through the humble gesture of baptism like the rest of the people around John
the Baptist (Luke 3). Why? The
answer is simple: to identify
himself as God’s Son so that his mission could begin.
The first reading (Is. 40) introduces
to us the vital role of the Messiah from God. He will rule with a strong arm. He will be a shepherd tending his flock with tenderness and
leading them to life. Paul in writing to Titus (2 and 3) reminds us how we have
been saved and renewed by the cleansing waters made holy through our Savior
Jesus Christ. This is the reason why the church always taught the necessity of
baptism for salvation.
In our personal lives, are we
aware that since our baptism, since we became known as Christians, we are also
identified as children of the Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus, and
filled with God’s Spirit? Are we
aware that since that day our mission in life has begun? Many people live their lives in
total loss of direction, without zest for life, deprived of vision and hope for
today and for the future. No Christian needs to live like this. In baptism, like Jesus, we have been
entrusted a relationship with God and a task to perform for the world that
awaits our love.
Maybe we don’t remember our baptismal anniversary, but whenever we pray the Creed,
whenever we dip our fingers on the holy water font, whenever we are sprinkled
with holy water – we recall our baptism, the day we entered God’s family. It is not only a past event. For us, it is a daily celebration. For
we have been called to be like Jesus and given power to change the world around
us. Christian, remember your
dignity! Live your baptism!
